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Molly Tenenbaum
English 102
February 11, 2014
Teach yourself: Change the World
How do we make a difference in life and change our world? Chris Wiewora and Karen
Barichievy believe that commitment and perseverance are essential to making a difference in
their world, and John Kessler and Rowan Jacobsen write stories about people that incorporate
knowledge and skills from the past to change their world. All four of these essays, taken
together, show that detailed knowledge of their craft is the most successful ingredient to
changing our world.
In these four essays the job well done starts with a powerful commitment. Wiewora and
Barichievy both work in the food service industry and have committed to working at their
personal best so they can achieve a high level of satisfaction. Barichievy who writes, “To Serve
and Obey,” is a personal chef and Wiewora, who writes, “Tossing,” is a cook in a pizza
restaurant. They both have many obstacles to overcome, Wiewora has to be sure that he is
physically and mentally prepared to create 11 pizzas in one hour and Barichievy has to be sure
that every ingredient is fresh and the timing of her menu is perfect. Wiewora is driven to beat
his personal best much like an athlete who is driven to always surpass what they’ve already
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achieved and Barichievy is driven by the rules that her employer implements. The commitment
needed by both never waivers. Weiwora writes, “If you could do 11 by 11 just once—you feel
like you would truly be a professional…it would prove that what you do in this restaurant
matters” (324). Even though this goal may not be possible because it requires perfect timing
and effort, Wiewora is committed to trying over and over to achieve it because he wants to be
successful and improve his world around him.
Barichievy’s employer is extremely particular and instills a sense of fear in the people
around him. Barichievy writes about her employer stating, “He is curt to the point of offhand in
the mornings. Best to speak when you’re spoken to” (319). This must be very challenging for
Barichievy because she only receives negative feedback such as, “Any chance of some
porridge?” (320) and,”Have we got enough ice packs?” (322). She does not get any encouraging
responses from her employer to gauge her level of success. Just as in Wiewora’s story,
Barichievy’s success may not be possible. The stringent rules as to how the food is served and
the overall atmosphere would make many people give up but Barichievy’s commitment is
strong and propels her to continually do her best. In both of these essays, the commitment is
one of personal nature: to be the best at something and feel significant.
Will Harris, from Kessler’s essay, “The Upstart Cattleman,” and John Bunker from
Jacobsen’s essay, “Forbidden Fruits,” are both committed to the future sustainability of the
industries they are passionate about. Harris and Bunker realize that taking the easiest path to
production would eventually be the destruction of the industry itself and their commitment
blossoms into the larger task of changing a world-wide view of farming. Bunker created the
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apple farm, Fedco Trees, to graft the old forgotten trees into new trees. He is committed to
preserving the past by recreating old and forgotten apple varieties for future apple farmers and
consumers. Bunker says, “I talk about the history of apples, but you know what? I’m giving a
highly political talk, because it’s about our agricultural heritage” (qtd. in Jacobsen 109). Bunker
is passionate about keeping the “chain of knowledge” (Jacobsen 110) open to farmers and
consumers. He is committed to spreading his knowledge to improve the world at large.
Harris’s cattle farm was handed down to him through from his father and was very
lucrative and commercially run. His commitment to dramatically change the operations of his
farm to operate organically has revolutionized the way many farmers view raising cattle for
food in the south. After reading about American farming practices, Harris started to think about
how he was treating his animals and land and whether his farming operation was something he
could feel good about leaving to his children. He has such a strong commitment to his vision
that when his farm was not making money because of his dramatic operational changes, he
pursued other farmers to work with and built relationships with other “good food” (Kessler
156) supporters. The commitment that Harris and Bunker possess is the driving force for their
vision and will facilitate many positive changes in farming to make the world a better place.
When the commitment is clear, the next step is to become educated in the details that
are needed to go forward. Wiewora did not attend a college to learn how to flip pizzas but
learned his detailed knowledge through work experience: trial and error and his boss looking
over his shoulder. Wiewora describes the physical movements and mental awareness required
to work the dough when he writes, “…your right hand slides from your left middle finger
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toward your left inner elbow, while your left forearm remains straight…your arms will look like
an equilateral triangle…It’s confusing. But you’ve done this so much by now that you just feel it”
(326) . This lucidity about the way his body moves are the details needed to go forward and to
be successful just as Barichievy’s constant assessment of her own performance are necessary
details needed for a job well done. Barichievy attended culinary school to become educated
and learned details for her craft through her work. The attention she pays to choosing the best
ingredients and timing of her meals is the pathway to her success. Barichievy writes, “I need
more tarragon. It isn’t holding its own against the mayonnaise. Perhaps it’s Russian rather than
French tarragon. The latter is a weaker, more insipid cousin to the Gallic version” (318). This
thought about tarragon and how Barichievy recalls this detailed information reminds me of
Bunker’s historical knowledge of apples and how the people around Barichievy and Bunker
trust what they say and do because of their extensive knowledge of their craft.
After attending Colby College in Waterville, Maine, Bunker started to observe
opportunities that were presented to him as a pathway to preserve and expand apple varieties.
His thirst for knowledge of apple varieties and his motivation to understand where and when
they came from gave him detailed knowledge that has saved 80 to100 varieties of apples from
becoming extinct (Kessler 108). Kessler writes, “When Bunk lays out his dazzling apple displays,
it’s a reminder that our sense of the apple has increasingly narrowed, that we are asking less of
this most versatile of fruits…” (107). It seems that you only have to see Bunker’s display of
apples to appreciate his knowledge and attention to details.
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Harris’s White Oak Pastures displays Harris’s extensive cattle farming knowledge. Harris
was the first of his family to complete a college degree. When he returned to the farm he had
to respect his father’s way of raising and slaughtering cattle but as he observed and read about
farming and agribusiness he started to question the way the farm was run. Harris also started
comparing caring for an animal to caring for children: “If you weren’t intentionally inflicting
pain and suffering on the animal, it was considered good animal welfare…By that thinking, if
you chain your kid to the tv and feed them a steady diet of potato chips, you’re not hurting
them” (qtd. in Kessler 155). This questioning is a result of becoming educated through school,
books and relationships with other people who are experienced in the field. Kessler writes,
“Row by row, Harris is breaking the mold on farming in Georgia” (151), because Harris is
knowledgeable about how to make a successful change in a traditional industry.
All of these essays tell stories about people who created change within themselves and
the world around them by learning the details and intricacies of their passion. In their own way
they will preserve history and create a path for the future by being examples of commitment,
perseverance and achievement. It is important as a society to acknowledge people who choose
a challenging path to a brighter future because it is human nature to take the easy way. We can
be inspired to follow our own dreams when we learn about others who have overcome
challenges to create positive change. Wiewora and Barichievy need to have strong
perseverance to succeed while Bunker and Harris look at the past to go forward. They all invest
time, energy and undying commitment to hone every detail of their craft, and as a result, they
make the world a better place.
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Works Cited
. Barichievy, Karen. “To Serve and Obey.” Hughes314-322.
Hughes, Holly. Ed. Best Food Writing 2013. Boston: Da Capo,2013. Print.
Jacobsen, Rowan. “Forgotten Fruits.” Hughes 104-111
John, Kessler. “The Upstart Cattleman.” Hughes 150-159.
Wiewora, Chris. “This is Tossing.” Hughes 323-328